The Department of Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS) at Oregon State University (OSU) is pleased to sponsor the Petersen Visiting Scholar Award in Gerontology and Family Studies, funded by a generous gift from Jo Anne Leonard Petersen. Several Department faculty are active researchers in areas wherein gerontology and family studies intersect, such as caregiving to aging family members and intergenerational relationships. These faculty members are active participants in the University’s Program in Gerontology as well as OSU's Center for Healthy Aging Research. With faculty from other units across campus, such as anthropology, chemistry, design and human enviornment, engineering, nutrition and exercise sciences, the Linus Pauling institute, philosophy, public health, sociology, and veterinary medicine, we pursue innovative research, education, and outreach that enhances quality of life for older adults, their families, and society.

Since 1997-1998, the Department has hosted a visiting scholar investigating some aspect of the nexus of gerontology and family studies. Scholars may come from a wide range of fields including anthropology, family and consumer sciences, health, history, human development, medicine, nutrition, philosophy, psychology, social work, and sociology. An important goal of the Petersen gift is to enhance understanding of the intersection between families and development in later life, and it is expected that the visiting scholar will contribute to this understanding.

The Visiting Scholar is invited to join HDFS and University faculty and graduate students, who, although working independently, will promote a shared sense of inquiry and discussion in areas wherein gerontology and family studies meet. The Department offers an undergraduate major and both a master's degree and a PhD in HDFS. At the graduate level, students concentrate in family studies or life-span human development. Human Development and Family Sciences graduate students and those from elsewhere in the University also may choose an interdisciplinary concentration in gerontology. 

The Visiting Scholar will have office space in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences and will have access to the facilities of Oregon State University. The scholar will receive a cash award of $21,000; benefits are not included. Visiting scholars will be in residence for one academic quarter (September 16 to December 15, January 2 to April 1, or March 16 to June 15).

Although the primary emphasis of the Visiting Scholar Program is individual research and writing, the award is designed to promote an exchange of ideas and to encourage interaction between the scholar and resident faculty and graduate students who share similar interests, as well as the general community of students and faculty at Oregon State University. In pursuit of these goals, scholars may specify a contribution they would make to gerontology and family studies at Oregon State University. This could be a seminar, a short series of public lectures, or another option compatible with the scholar’s interests and the goals of the Petersen Visiting Scholar Program.

Most Visiting Scholars will be persons already established in their careers who seek time to pursue a significant project. Scholars on sabbatical leave who wish to interact with others focused on the intersection of gerontology and family studies are particularly encouraged to apply. Typically, applicants will be senior academic scholars but individuals who have made notable contributions in gerontology and family studies outside of academic settings also are eligible.

Applicants should submit a letter specifying the quarter during which they would like to be in residence and a brief description of plans for the period of residency. A curriculum vitae or resume should be included along with one or two examples of published work related to the intended project. The postmark deadline is November 1 in the year prior to the academic year in which the scholar will be in residence.

Decisions on the award will be made by the holder of the Petersen Chair in consultation with the Petersen Advisory Committee and will be based on congruence between the applicant’s interests and the goals of the Visiting Scholar Program, as well as the applicant’s record of scholarly achievement.

Decisions will be made by December 15 of each year. Visiting scholars are responsible for transportation to and from Oregon as well as their expenses while in residence.

Applications should be addressed to: Alexis J. Walker, PhD, Petersen Chair in Gerontology & Family Studies, 322 Milam Hall, Oregon State University,Corvallis OR 97331-5102, 541-737-4992,541-737-1076 (FAX), email: walkera@oregonstate.edu